Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is an intense guy.
Gannon was fined $100,000 for throwing a punch at running back Emeri Demarcado after a costly fumble dropping the ball at the goal line contributed to a shocking collapse against the Tennessee Titans, for which he later apologized. So the Cardinals head coach doesn’t exactly have a great history of keeping his emotions in check.
That’s why it was interesting that Gannon was asked about his emotions at a Wednesday press conference when it came to his dealing with injuries and adjusting his lineup. Instead of offering a fiery outburst, it’s safe to say that nobody was expecting where the Cardinals head coach was going to take the assembled press.
A reporter asks Gannon, “Coach, how early in your career did you have to start figuring out how to take the emotion out of coaching as far as when you have all these injuries and you have all these different pieces. When’s the first time you can recall that?”
“2007 when our quarterback went to jail,” Gannon answered in the most deadpan way possible.
What absolutely makes this clip so amazing and really puts it over the top is the few seconds of awkward silence that follows Gannon’s comments and then the perfect, “coach, thank you!” that brings the press conference to an end. That’s not a mic drop as much as it is a WTF drop. If that’s not the most awkward ending to a press conference we’ve ever seen, it’s at least in the top one percent.
If you are of a certain youthfulness, you may have no idea who or what Jonathan Gannon is talking about. The quarterback in question is none other than Michael Vick. Gannon was a quality control defensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons when Vick pled guilty to federal charges surrounding his role in a dogfighting ring in August 2007. Vick missed two seasons while in prison before returning to the NFL in 2009 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He is now the head coach at Norfolk State University.
That really doesn’t have anything to do with adjusting your lineup due to injuries! Though apparently, it’s a crystal clear memory in the mind of the Cardinals head coach. I guess if your starting quarterback gets indicted on federal charges a few weeks before the start of the season, it’s something that gets seared into your memory.
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